Minus 9 hours and counting...

 So it's finallly come...the last day that i'll be in Greece until who knows when. It's been such a hectic few days since I last posted...finding the right plane, train, bus and etc. Ya know..the usual. lol

So obviously I haven't had enough access to the internet to post or I would have. The airport does not have wireless which is disappointing. So the final night we all stayed up late to make sure the kids that needed to be up at like 3 in the morning were. It was like a big sleep over. It also took us all a long time to pack all our our stuff up. It took my roommate about 4 hours!! So we said our goodbyes keeping in mind that I will see everyone from providence in about a month! :D I'm so glad Chels chose Brown now! Who knows...I might end up in Providence before the year is over with! :D We could be roomies! 

So anyways...Heather, Macy, and I checked in for our flight to Santorini, it was on time and it only took about 10 mins. to get through everything because it was a domestic flight. We flew with Aegean airlines and let me just say...this was the most amazing flight I have ever had. Very positive experience. I was very impressed. They do not mess around over here. In the US it seems like it takes an hour to get on the plane and take off...not here...they took us over on a bus from our gate and we all walked up on the plane, sat down, they handed out a piece of candy to everyone, put our seat belts on and we were literally in the air!!! It was crazy! The flight was about 25 mins. It was short and sweet. After we arrived we had to wait about an hour and 15  mins for the hotel guy to pick us up. I was not very happy.  After he took us to the hotel, we got settled in our room. It was very cute and much better than I had anticipated. We stayed at a hostel so it was a new experience but it worked out great! After we got in the hotel we got ready and had lunch at a cute little taverna and then attempted to get on the right bus to head to the red and white beaches. We made it there after about an hour and it was well worth the ride and the hike to get there. It was beautiful and unlike anything i've ever seen before. Pictures just don't do it justice! We also saw the black beach this day...it was cool too. I got some sand from each of them. We had had a long day so we caught the bus back and then grabbed a bite to eat and took showers and went to bed. The next day we got up fairly early and had waffles with fruit on them for breakfast and then we took a tour of Santorini. It cost 32 Euro but they picked us up on a bus, took us to the port, and we got to ride on a nice boat. After we got on the boat, the first stop was the volcano...we hiked all around it and it was very hot because of all the black rocks. It was huge and very interesting. After the volcano, we all got back on the boat and then headed to the sulfur springs. The water here is soo pretty its like greenish blue and then all of a sudden it turns to red...you can't even see yourself in it. The boat got as close as they could to the springs and then we jumped off the boat and swam over to them. It was like taking a mud bath. The water was warm like bath water and it was such a drastic difference from the blue ocean water. Extremely cool! After the springs, we got back on the boat and went to a small town where there were tavernas and shops and this is where i got to ride a donkey!! They were soo cute!! It was only 5 Euro and they took you up the hill to the main town. It was soo cool! I got a brown one and named him George. We took lots of pics. I also bought a donkey bag and a donkey towel! After this town they took us to Oia where we got to watch the most gorgeous sunset. We had to ride donkeys up the mountain to get to the town and then we did some souvenir shopping and headed to the sunset. (btw, this donkey ride was extremely rough, i thought i was going to fall off going up the mountain!!) There were a lot of tourists here but it was worth it...it was gorgeous and we took progressive pics.  We took the bus back and then we collapsed. We were tired. The next day we slept in till about 10 am and then we had breakfast again at another little cafe and then we headed to the pool. We spent like all day by the pool before we had to go to the airport...it was sooo relaxing and nice. The flight back to Athens was equally as nice and then after we got back we checked into the sofitel at the airport....talk about luxury this was one of the nicest hotels that i have ever stayed at! The shower was phenomenal. So we all had showers, grabbed some airport food, made phone calls and arrangements and then passed out in the huge king size bed. It was like a huge slumber party luxury style! It was great.

So heather and macy got up around 5 this morning and went over for their flights...macy is going to meet up with her mom in paris and heather was going to new york for a day or two then back to denver. We had our hugs and such while i was still sleeping and then they left. Tired goodbyes are always best when you're not sure how to say goodbye...i've discovered this on this trip! lol So I slept in and then checked us out this morning and then got on the metro and headed back to athens one final time. I love Greece in general and i'm really going to miss it here...i mean sure it has its downfalls but it also has its perks!  So after i got back to Athens, i located my hotel and checked in. I headed down to Syndagma Square to do some last min. shopping and to try to pick up Heather's glasses that she left at Hotel Astor. After running around for the afternoon i came back to the hotel and lounged around on the rooftop pool here at the presidential hotel...one of the main reasons Stella said we should stay here! She set everything up for me since i was in Santorini! So, I was waiting for her to arrive from her small town so i went to the pool, by the time i had gotten a shower, she had arrived! I was soo excited that i had finally gotten to see her!! It really topped off my trip for me! We talked for a while and i showed her a lot of pictures and then we met up with her cousin and went out for my last dinner!! We ate at a nice place and the food was great and talking with her cousin was really cool. I felt like i learned a lot more about the culture through her. It was a good dinner...very long, but good. After dinner we took a cab ride back to the hotel...another one of those scary ones...and this time we even picked up another stranger on the way!! YAY! lol crazy i know...long story...so we made it back and we've just been chillin for a while and are going to bed shortly because we have to be up early for breakfast and then for my metro trip to the airport!!! AHHH!! I can't believe that this is IT! I'm not ready to leave, i'm not ready to come back to a country that i have also learned to despise for certain things! This has been a growing and learning experience certainly something I will look back on and say, "Hey remember that summer I spent in Greece...." It's been an amazing adventure and quite frankly...i'm ready to tackle the next thing that comes my way....

This won't be my last post..as you will wonder what is next for me and what my time back home will be like at first..... i'll keep you updated..no worries :D Thanks for reading thus far though! 

Winding Down - 5 More Days

I'm not even sure really where to begin! It's been such a busy week and i did not have internet access at the resort because it was down for the last 4 days..and here in Greece....it takes them about a year to fix something that takes us 5 mins. to fix! lol That and I haven't really had a lot of time on my hands! 

Last time I posted I had just booked a room in Santorini!! I finally booked a flight last night. My friends Heather and Macy are going with me! It should be a blast. We have a whole list of things we want to do there, the volcano, swimming in the hot springs, the white beach, black beach, and the red beach, see what they think is the lost city of Atlantis, restaurants, and ride donkeys! We will be leaving at 10:30 am tomorrow morning. It hasn't quite hit me yet that we're going or that my trip is coming to an end with a short 5 days left or 1 left for everyone else.

As for a recap of this week, it was very fun-filled and eventful! There were other interns working at the resort for the 3 summer months. They were all our age and doing internships for college and such. They were from all over the world, Sweden, Russia, Cosovo, Macedonia, Albania, and more. There were 2 girls from the US. They weren't really nice though, kinda bitchy! So between morning and evening shifts we all hung out at the beach allllll day! It was so wonderful and relaxing. Everyone played volleyball, swam, laid out and just had a lot of fun. They also had a trampoline at the beach that I entertained myself on just about everyday! I miss having one! I tried to get everyone on it, but only like 3 people would jump with me!! I also bought my own floatie this week. Like a long one that you lay on a float around. It was the best 6 Euro I think I've spent this whole trip! It was relaxing and I just floated around in the ocean for hours! :D It was well worth every breath i put in it to blow it up!! THEN, yesterday when we left Alexander I deflated it and am now taking it to Santorini with me tomorrow! One day this week at the beach, this kid from Sweden named Phillip caught an octopus!! He brought it to shore and I got to touch it! Everyone was touching it and when we put him in the water over the sand, he camouflaged himself. It inked one of my friends Nicole like 6 times! haha It was sooo cool to see something like that up close. Some guy that was working at the beach eventually came over and they squeezed out its brains and he took it home to eat it!!!! Ick!

So they next day, Sweden as we called him, took me out snorkeling, we went really far out, we saw a baby octopus and fish and then we caught what i think were oysters!? They were shellfish of some type. He taught me how to find them under the sand! We swam back to shore with like 10 huge shells. When we got back I just wanted to keep the shells because they don't have seashells on the beaches here, they have rocks instead. However, he got a knife and a lemon and cut them open, rinsed them with fresh water, squeezed some lemon on it and ate them!! Not what I was expecting. I got to try one too, it didn't really taste like much of anything though, just a weird texture! This was seriously one of the coolest things I have ever done! Go out, catch the food, and eat it right there on the beach! It was crazy!!! They also had a really tiny pearl inside so I'm guessing they were oysters. After we ate the shellfish, we set them back out into the ocean for the fish to clean up the parts you can't eat. Like a million fish came over out of nowhere! After this I put them in a cup and am bringing them home with me!! This is something I will never forget!! After laying around at the beach we went up and had crepes!! Ah, I love crepes I had a chocolate and banana one with yogurt ice cream! BTW the Greeks looove their yogurt over here, and it's not like American yogurt, its very different, it took a while to get used to but I really love it now! Anyways, so the crepes were great and then I got ready for dinner and went back for the night shift. At night at the resort they always have some type of party like a beach party, a pool party, a greek night, or a party at the kassandra bar. This night it was Greek night. They had dancers and music. It was pretty cool, I went to bed early this night because I was so tired though.

So the next night they had a pool party and we all went to that, it was a lot of fun! Everyone ended up getting pushed in the pool and then we all eventually made our way down to the beach and had some fun before going to bed around like 3! The next night they had a beach party that I helped decorate for. It rained for a brief 5 mins early that evening and it was really chilly for the rest of the night. I actually had to break out the jeans and the ONE long sleeve shirt that i brought with me! I can say that I'm glad I brought it now! I went for a walk on the beach and we had some drinks and danced and then we all went to bed fairly early because it was kinda cold outside! We were all shocked! lol The last night we spent at the Kassandra Bar, it was fun, we all got dressed up for our last night there and went out and danced. It was a blast, I took lots of pictures and I also learned from Amanda, my adopted mother, and Bobbie how to pop a proper squat when you need to go!! lol Thanks guys! 

During the day we spent most of the time at the beach, Sarah, John, and I all went into the small village one day because Sarah needed to take more money out of an ATM. It was a short trip. We did a little shopping while we were there and I bought a beach towel and then I got Heather and I snorkels for when we go to Santorini next week! We used them down at the beach when I had gotten back and we got the bright idea for her to put it in her mouth while we poured beer down it!! Haha...it was hilarious, I can't believe this is what she did with it!!! I posted a picture already so you can get the idea! We all said, "why didn't we think of this before!!" lol Fun times! Other than going to the village we spent most of our time at the resort and on the beach! The beach was constantly fun and I had a slushie and a huge donut like everyday! Sarah and I also shared fruit salads. Everything is so much fresher here, the fresher ingredients make everything better. We also had to finish off a bottle of wine this week because I am having a hard time fitting everything in my bags! It was from the winery that we went too and it ended up being really good! I let Nicole keep the bottle because she accidentally threw hers away and she wanted to give it to her parents. 

As for the work experience part of the week, it was eventful. I spent 3 days in F&B and then 3 days in lodging. The restaurant wasn't too bad. There were just serious communication problems this week so it made it tough. The employees wouldn't tell us what to do and then when we set it up the way we thought we were suppose to, they would tell us it was wrong and make us do it another way! They should have told us what to do in the first place. Things like this happened all week long. Nobody gave us any instructions, it was like we were just supposed to guess! They also tried to keep us over our time limit a couple of times. It was a mess! Plus, most every employee speaks some English but there are many people that come from all over Europe to this resort especially many Germans, so the language was interesting and I learned some more Greek this week! They also do not have sanitation guidelines here in Greece or other foreign countries just to let ya know! lol There isn't such a thing as a health inspection or health code here. They don't have rubber mats in the back by the dishwasher and they do everything by hand instead of having a automatic dishwasher. The floors are very slippery and they also polish their silverware with vinegar here! ICK! I think that is so gross. While we were cleaning tables during breakfast, I swear we used the same towel everyday to wipe the tables off and my third day there it smelled like straight mildew or mold or something. It was disgusting. It was basically a dry towel and there was no sanitizing spray or bucket full of sanitized water to even dip it in! It was disgusting. We didn't actually "clean" the table, just dusted off the crumbs with a dirty towel. My friends that worked the pool bar or the beach bar told us all not to eat anything other than chicken nuggets and fries and other things like ice cream and slushies. Just don't eat anything that is actually made there. They said that they leave the cream cheese sit out all day!! And that there are no gloves for the employees to use and they just eat and drink freely and wipe their sweat off with napkins and their hands and then don't wash them! When I work i probably wash my hands about 50 times a shift literally! Here, i only saw one hand-washing sink the whole time and it didn't have any soap or paper towels. So....the standards are very different here than in America. However, sometimes I feel its good that we have guidelines and at other times, not so good. I think we freak ourselves out about food poisoning and food safety temperatures too much. I was never like this until I learned about it all in school. Regardless, we're really picky and so materialistic. We want everything our way, btw...i haven't seen a Burger King here! lol The managers here work much different than in America as well. The F&B manager is a real dick-head. He constantly yells at the employees and there was an issue this week with him calling one of students a malayka which means fucker. It's a really long story. He eventually apologized but everyone is afraid of him. It's hard to go into detail about how they manage but they use some extremely different tactics here in Greece! This week wasn't the most pleasant work experience I've ever had but I sure did learn a lot about how different cultures manage and work. Overall it was a great learning experience. Also, the girl that was rude to me and told me I could not use the internet was rude to like 5 other people from our group and it eventually got around to Sharene and then she asked me about what had happened. She checked with Christiana our lady who does this program for us and she said she had never heard of a rule like that and that I could use my computer whenever I wanted. After this, the internet broke though! lol Anyways, we were told that she was sat down and talked with about how she had been treating our group and after that she tried to be somewhat nice, or more or less just not such a bitch! 

It was a very long week but a good one overall. I really wouldn't mind working at a beach resort for different reasons. I already know that I want to work at a resort property but I would definitely consider a beach resort now. This week i received some injuries, a kid stepped on my foot and messed up my pedicure and hurt two of my toes, someone was trying to throw me into the pool and ripped my dress (its fixable though), I hurt the heel of my foot by stepping on some rocks on the beach that i didn't see. I also got a small rock stuck in my foot and had to get it out using a safety pin that this girl Bobbie had holding her dress together down on the beach, it was very painful and was sore for like 2 days! I also fell down the stairs once, the marble ones are so slippery but I'm recovering and I strained my leg muscle on the trampoline when i was getting carried away doing jumps but it's feeling better now! lol I also have had a scratchy throat the past few mornings. It hasn't been a great week for my well being I guess.

Yesterday we came back to Thessaloniki and had some free time to do whatever we wanted, i picked up a few items, and worked on booking a flight. We were not thrilled to be staying back at the Astoria Hotel with the construction and such. We hated it there. However, it was only one night. At 7pm we all went out for our final night dinner that the group who won in class had planned. It was very nice and then after dinner we finalized our flight plans and then we all headed out for another booze cruise and then to our favorite bar for the last time! Some people started to get sad and such but we all decided that we would hold off our goodbyes for tonight in Athens. It was a good night out and then Ashton and I had a Gyro for the last time at our favorite Gyro spot. I've missed her this past week because she was with the group of 8 that went to the other resort to work! And then we woke up this morning and we're on our way to Athens. 

I really can't believe that I have less than 5 days left here. I'm positive that I will be back soon enough to here and to travel elsewhere in Europe. I love this country, the good and the bad. I could stay forever, I really could. I am so glad that I decided to go on this trip and spend the money. I have made so many memories and new friends to last me a lifetime. It has been a truly amazing experience and I plan to live up the last few days of it. Tonight when we all say our goodbyes because a lot of peoples flights leave at like 7 in the morning, I have a feeling there might be some type of emotion, maybe even some crying on my behalf which is uncommon as we all know how i get that unemotional gene from my Nan! I have really become best friends with these girls and love them dearly. I couldn't have asked for a better group or better times than I have had with them. They're all amazing and we're planning trips to get together already in Denver and my favorites know that i'll be up to providence because of Chelsea to visit as much as i can! It's going to be odd not seeing some of these people anymore after spending over a month with them everyday with the chance that i might never see many of them again. And let me just also say that this trip has truly been an eye opener in so many different ways. My priorities and values have been altered. I realize that some things aren't as important as we make them out to be and that some aspects of life should be more appreciated. I also kinda feel that I have gained much more self confidence and the ability to do much more on my own than I'm already doing. The past two years haven't really been filled with much self confidence or any clear direction or idea of what I am doing or want to do! I think I've finally had some time away from the not so fun reality of everyday of life and the chance to experience something different and it has helped me to take a step back and look at what I'm doing with my life and the things I want to change, need to change. It's put a lot of things into perspective for me.

So as for another post before I leave Athens, I will try to do that in the morning probably at the airport, if not the website of the hotel says there is internet, so we'll see...if there is, i'll most definitely be posting, if not, i will when i return to Athens again! See everyone soon and pray for a safe trip for my friends and I! 

OMG!! Here I come Santorinii!!

Soo, i JUST booked a room in Santorini!! AHHH!! I'm so excited.....after this i can officially say that i've seen all of Greece!!! I talked to my bff Stella last night and i told her the options and we discussed it and decided that i better go to Santorini if i have the chance...heck, she's been to Greece a million times, her family lives her, and she's never been! So...she might meet us in Athens and go with us...however, i'm not sure yet...My friend heather and i booked a triple room because that's all they had. two other people on the trip want to go but aren't sure yet. Heather and I are the only definites so far. If either of the people don't end up going I'm def. going to try and get stella to go and if no one else can go, well we'll just have an extra bed!! lol I'm so excited! I'm really out here seeing the world and its amazing!!! PLUS my favorite part of this...I'm going to get to ride a DONKEY!! (What i've been wanting to do the whole trip!!) We'll be staying in a youth hostel...thank the lord for student discounts!! :) It looks really nice and there's air conditioning and a pool!! A girl on the trip went to the islands before our trip started and told us things to do like the black beach, the red beach, the white beach, clubs and bars, and the volcano....and well, my own personal input...ride a donkey...but if anyone has any other ideas...let me know, i imagine i won't have too much to to research everything to the ends of the earth like some people i know...(cough julie cough)! So...get on it sis! haha :D (Can't wait for the chick-fila breakfasts and dinners!!)

So thats the big news of the day. As for the internship...it's going ok i guess. Today was really crappy. I was in the taverna from 12-6 and it was so unbearably hot!! I could not breathe! Plus, the workers there made me do like all their work...it sucked. I've been in a pretty sour mood today until this recent news. Hopefully though tomorrow will be better! I'm in the restaurant for 3 hours in the morning and then back in the evening for dinner. See, in Greece they don't work a 9-5 like we do in the states or more or less an 8 -8 for most...haha we spend our lives at our jobs or let our world revolve around them. However, here in Greece they work for a while in the morning, go home in the afternoon for lunch, a nap, hell why not a swim?...and then return in the evening for a few more hours. This is how all the shops and businesses operate...some days they come back for the evening...sometimes they don't! Lunch here isn't at noon either...it's from 3-5ish. Just some interesting info. lol So anyways...my work schedule is something like that tomorrow. However, hotels are an exception to this rule i believe because someone has to be at some restaurant at all hours of the day at a resort. Soo..but for the majority of the population, this is how they work. I'm planning on spending my break at the beach!! YAY!! :)

So work was not enjoyable today but just for an update on the food....it's not leftovers..thank goodness... they make food for us and we eat in the back of the restaurant for breakfast and dinner before the guests and then the taverna for lunch. So...it's not bad food either...just normal stuff we've been having..but better. lol So i'm not starving, and i'm pretty well stocked on snacks for the weeks. I've eaten like a lb. of cherries that i bought at the flea market already! The staff here are ok, most speak some english and i did learn some greek today...so watch out, he was pretty impressed with what i knew from rosetta and all too!! There is one lady i do not like here though...she approached me and was like, don't you work here?? and i was like yea i'm interning with the big group and she was like ok well get your feet off the table, (my whole foot was not on the table, i had shoes on, and they were just balancing on the edge) and you can't use the internet until after 11:00pm. I just looked at her like she was stupid and said ok...she stood over by the front desk for about 15 mins. and then sighed and went back to her room. AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED..she can kiss my big fat a**. #1, she herself is just another intern for the summer so who does she think she is that she can tell me what to do, #2...what was she really going to do?? cause i certainly wasn't moving until my pics were uploaded, and #3..its a freaking wireless internet connection...its not like i'm HOGGING up all the internet so the other guests can't use it...i mean come on..lets get real!?!?....and FINALLY #4...its not like i was in a uniform or anything so the guests could clearly see me, the only reason she knew i worked here was because she was at lunch earlier...none of these guests know anything either..i saw like a whole 20 people today! PLUS, i'm not sure if she's aware...i'm PAYING to work here so again...she can kiss my butt...i thought about bringing this up to our teacher but i'm not trying to start anything...i'll just pretend like i didn't hear her...and that will be that...lol next time, i won't be so nice...

So also i just wanted to say, I'm having a blast here even though I've had a rough day today...it's so amazing to be in a whole other world. This trip has opened up a lot of doors for me and i know what i want my focus to be for my masters. I want to do an MBA with like a concentration on International Relations. I could def. see myself working in another country as an experiate manager or something after school and seeing the rest of the world before i do whatever else. (# 1 reason i chose this field of study!) The past couple years have been rough and i feel like i'm finally getting a true college experience on this trip with the friendships i've made and the roomate thing... i love it most of the time! lol I'm happier right now than i have been in quite some time with the way things have been going the past two years and i'm so glad i signed on for this. I pretty much owe all of this to my friend Stella, she's the one who made me fill out the application after the deadline at the last minute!

BTW, i just wanted to let everyone know that my group did not get chosen for the final night dinner, thank goodness...i did not want the stress of that! AND...the best news of the day aside from my trip to Santorini is I GOT AN "A" in my History and Culture Class!!! YAY!!! :D This class was only 4.5 credits but still its something! The other one hasn't been added up yet because this week counts as a percentage but i'm pretty sure i'm going to pull out with nothing less than a "B." Hopefully an "A". If i can get an "A" in this next class this means my GPA could be amazing!! :) This would be a good thing so i can take an extra class in the fall and winter and get this johnson and wales thing over with as fast as possible so i can get on with couch burning and moonshine drinking! haha I'm j/k everyone calm down!! (a little)

Alright...that's it for today...hope you enjoyed this one...lots of interesting things today! I have work at 8 and i need sleep!! Goodnight, look for more tomorrow or the next day!!

What annie has seen today!!

Soo, i know i said I was going to post and everything, but this week has been soo hectic and FLOWN by and i didn't get time. However, we just arrived at Alexander Beach Resort and have some free time so i figured why not?

Last Sunday we ended up going to the Mama Mia movie...it was excellent..it wasn't out in America yet when we went to see it. So if it's out there now, you should go see it. A group of nine of us went, we took taxis which only cost like 2 Euro and then i got popcorn and a slushie. It was great, the movie was so good and I'm going to buy it when it comes out on DVD. After the movie, we walked back along the port, people were out selling stuff so i bought a few things. When we got back to the hotel, I crashed because I was so tired.

Monday we had class and then after class we went to the Archeological Museum of Thessaloniki and then to the Byzantine Culture Museum. I thought the first one was more interesting and our tour guide Anastasia made it fun for us. I finished my book that I have been reading and it was great. I also worked on assignments this night.

Tuesday was a great day. We didn't have to get up extremely early and instead got to wake up at like 8:30 and we went to the Tsantali Winery. It was really cool. I've never been to a winery before and getting to see how much of a process goes into making wine is really cool. They make ouzo there as well. The grapes come from different regions all over Greece. Most from Mt. Athos, Mt. Olympus, Chalkadiki, and Halkdiki, which is where I am right now. They also had grapes growing there. The lady giving the tour was having a hard time putting together her English but she let us do a wine tasting afterwards. The white was really good and the red was too bitter. I bought some wine and then we went back to the hotel and had class at 2:00 in the afternoon. I had to give a presentation on a Greek god this day. I got an A! After class my group and I headed out to find a restaurant. We all have to get into groups and find a restaurant for our final night dinner for when we return to Thessaloniki before we go back to Athens. We found a cute little place ate there and wrote about it. 

Wednesday we had early morning classes and the sales in Thessaloniki started this day. I was anxious to get to the shops. In both classes we reviewed for finals that we were going to be having the next day. After class and lunch we all walked to this fabulous bakery!  They had the best baklava...probably the best i've had in Greece so far. I also had chocolate baklava. It didn't really taste like chocolate though. After the bakery I work on my last paper that I had to write. I didn't get it finished but decided to go out to eat with my friends. We decided that we needed some American food and we ate at TGIFridays! It was great! THIS place was where I had my first FROZEN drink in this country! I was sooo excited. I got a frozen pina colada and then later decided to have another! They were fabulous! I was so happy!! Everyone else was really happy too. Leave it to the Americans to make the frozen drinks!!  After dinner we went back and studied for an hour or two and I finished writing my paper. We all gathered in 307 at 10 for desperate housewives. They're on season two here, but it was great re-watching them. We had fun and then we all passed out. 

Thursday, yesterday we had our finals. I think I did fairly well on each of them. I'm not sure what my grades were though. After finals I immediately hit the shopping area to hit up all the sales. I got some great deals!! Ah, it was exciting. I got the cutest pair of new stilettos. i also got a dress and then this weird european looking outfit. I bought a lot of souvenirs for people this day. After my day of shopping I went back to the hotel to start packing up  my stuff because I have accumulated a lot since being here! I had to break out the second duffle bag to get all my stuff packed. I'm not sure how i'm going to get all of this back to the states and after this mornings trip here, I really think i'm going to need to buy a larger suitcase. I had to much stuff to carry!! After packing a few of us went out to grab a bite to eat. I had a greek salad...again. lol After dinner we all met up, pretty much everyone on the trip and we all went down the the port for a booze cruise! More or less a party boat! haha it was sooo much fun and it was so pretty. You had to buy a drink to get on the boat, but they took you around the port and it was great. We took lots of pictures! After we got off the booze cruise we headed down to our favorite bar. The one we always seem to end up at. Our favorite bartenders were there and it was really great to have the majority of the group out. It's always a lot more fun! People  headed back slowly and I came back around like 4. We had so much fun but we were sad that it was our last night in Thessaloniki.

We're getting ready to go to orientation soon and then we'll be learning what we're going to be doing here this week . Working obviously but what kind? lol I'm just excited because I get a free t-shirt!! :) I will say though, this has been the trip of a lifetime and I am having so much fun. I can't believe its the last week of my study abroad trip already! It has flown by and personally,  I wouldn't mind not coming back. I could stay here forever. Now, after my study abroad thing is over, I have not decided yet what I am going to be doing. My friend Stella that is here sent me a message yesterday to get ahold of her so I will probably call her later on tonight so we can figure out what we're going to be doing and such. If something doesn't work out with her, my friend Heather boo boo as we call her, is leaving the same day I am, and is going to santorini for a few days. So, I'm not sure what i'll be doing but it will definitely be an adventure!! :) I've pretty much already decided that i'll be back to Greece as soon as humanly possible! 

Alright well I must get ready for orientation and lunch...i'll post more later!! :)

Free Weekend!

So Thursday i was def. dragging in class, i was so tired. I've been running on like 6 hours of sleep every night this week!! After class we had lunch, which was cold and gross, it kinda made me sick, and then i went shopping around, i didn't buy anything though. I didn't really see anything that i liked and i had to come back to the hotel because i had to use the bathroom and i couldn't find a W.C.! After coming back to the hotel, i got a shower and got ready for dinner and this special tour that we had going on at 5. We all met at 5 in the lobby and then took a bus to the upper city of Thessaloniki, the views were amazing! I took plenty of pictures. We saw a historical prison and the wall of the ancient citadel that surrounded the acropolis. Parts of it still remain today and it is amazing. You'll just be driving up a street and then here is this wall, and its sooo tall and made out of stone, i don't think it's ever coming down!! So after we got the history of the jail, we walked down from the upper city through the cobblestone and marble streets. They're beautiful! They don't have cement sidewalks here at all! It's all rich tile and stones and marble. It's crazy! The houses in this area, that sit right below the walls surrounding the acropolis, where they would go in and close the gates in case of an intrusion, go for about 300,000 Euros...which is like over 500,000 US dollars!! They aren't that big at all and you can't just drive cars up these streets because all of the streets of the ancient cites were very narrow...They all sit on very steep hills, so it's quite the walk everyday possibly!! When you buy a house here and remodel it, you have to follow specific guidelines because this is one of the only areas that still has the ancient architecture! So you can't just remodel it like you want!  It's crazy! They also have these little trenches in the streets that water flows down..they're so cool, so i took some pictures and will post them! lol After the prison and walking down through the old town we visited the church of San Dimitriosis. I'm not sure of his exact story, the tour guide was getting lengthy and hard to listen to at this point, but i took so many pretty pictures of this church and this was the first church that we were allowed to take pictures inside! While we were there 7 o'clock mass started and it reminds me alot of a catholic funeral where they burn that stuff and shake it all around and such, (i had to sit through some funerals at notre dame). Soo, anyways our tour lady took us underneath of the chuch and it was sooo cool....it was like going through some ancient tomb. The church was destroyed at one time and they found this underground area and then rebuilt the church on top of this again. It was where they believe San Dimitriosis was kept prisoner and killed and buried. They had some artifacts in a few cases for us to look at and then we left. After this, we quickly grabbed some gyro's to eat and i didn't feel like going out so everyone else went and the macbook and i spent some well needed quality time together!! :) I was sorta in a cranky mood and needed some alone time, so it was time well needed and spent. I also got some rest and slept in friday. Friday we all went to the beach around noon and stayed there till about 6. The beach we went too was way nicer than any beach i've ever been too! They had these like lounging areas with couches and cool chairs and the beach chairs here were only 2.50 to rent where at Alexander they were like 5! They brought complimentary fruit salad and water to the cool lounging areas, which our group got two and then just complimentary water to the chairs. I had a fruit salad anyways and it was good. We had to take cabs there and back and it was about a 30 min ride each way. The water was also really warm here and the ocean didn't drop off for a long way out which was nice!! The beaches here also don't have seashells, they have rocks instead. We had a good time and then the cabs were like 45 mins. late picking us up and then the cab ride back was dangerous!! We were seriously doing over 160 km/h which is like 100 in mph! Riding in these cabs is like riding a roller-coaster with the potential to die before it comes to a halt!! It's life or death baby!! Scary stuff! After we got back we went to a little taverna and had dinner and then got ready, pre-gamed, and went out, i didn't stay very long only until about 2:30 and came back with my friend Ashton. The greeks when they go out, stay out till like 5 or 6 in the morning and never dance! They dance at dance clubs but at the bars and such there is no dancing just drinking. They're very relaxed and here they don't go out to drink and get shitty and have a wild time they drink because its a social thing, a hang out for them. So, its very different because us crazy Americans were the only one's dancing!! They also play mostly American music which surprised me!

Now, saturday, yesterday i got up around 10am and went shopping all day until about 5 or 6. I was tired but nothing is open here on sunday and saturday most shops close at 3:30 or 4. Monday and wednesday they are open from like 10 - 3 close and then tuesday and thursday open at like 9 or 10 and close at around 2 or 3 and then reopen at like 5 or 6! On saturday, they do not reopen though. All jobs are like this here, the greeks take a break in the middle of their work day to go home and be with their families for lunch! It is the most important meal of the day here in Greece. Soo, I had cookies for breakfast and headed to the flea market. It was awesome, it reminds me a lot of the fashion district in L.A. but better!!! They have seriously everything here!! They sell fish like at a fish market on ice and everything, lamb, beef, chicken, cheeses, bread, coffee beans, olives, herbs and spices, fruits and vegetables then they also have clothes, shoes, purses, souvenirs, household products, and undies! Its kinda like a big walmart! haha just lots more fun and entertaining, plus you can bargain with them! They have linens and everything! Like seriously anything you could think of they have to sell you. I got some really great deals and a lot of things that i wanted and things for other people. I also went to a bunch of other little shops, i went to a really cute one that had the same dress that i bought at the mall, it was like the brand store and this lady helped me pick out a bunch of stuff and i felt bad so i ended up buying this very european outfit! OMG, its really cute its just not something you've seen in america before, but that's what i love about this place! I got a few other really cool items and then had lunch at this little cafe called Tiffany's! Again, greek salad, bread and water. After this i had some more baklava and then went in the stores that were still open and then headed back. Also another thing, the sizes here in Greece, and i'm pretty sure i can speak for all Europe when i say this, are very small. I mean the normal small and medium fit me just like the U.S.  However, they do not carry anything bigger than like large and extra large, and even those sizes are smaller than the extra large in the states! I mean, the greeks aren't large like some of us americans and they don't have an obesity problem but it's kinda hurtful i guess if you are that size and can't wear the trendy clothes or go in these stores. Like most american stores carry one outfit from size 2-14 just for that one article but here i haven't seen things in stores over a 10. I did see a store for people over size 48...which converted to american would be like probably size 10! So i dunno, just thought that was really interesting! I shopped by myself though and had a really good time. I find it hard to shop in a group or with like 5 other people. Plus, i like doing things at my own pace. I also have about half of my souviener shopping for other people done already, so that's really nice! There are a few things that i would like to get in Athens and then we'll be shopping another day this week when all the sales start here! I scoped out somethings i want but am waiting for them to go on sale, which i am told, this will happen this week before we leave. If not, i'm just going to get them anyways! lol Last night when i got back i grabbed a gyro, i've been pretty much living on those and greek salad, and then got a shower and got ready to go out. This time we went out at like midnight and had much more fun than the previous night! After the bar and dancing we grabbed gyro's at like 5 in the morning and then headed to bed. We slept in till about 3 today and then grabbed a bite and have been working on our assignments since then. Tonight i think a group of us are going to see Mama Mia, in English with greek subtitles of course! Soo...free weekend has been fun, i took lots of pictures and such and will post them before the day is over!! Take a look and leave me some comments..i don't feel like anyone is reading this!!! Ok, bye!

SCHOOL SUCKS!! :)

Ok, for starters..the hotel we're staying in is not making me happy...the phone in the room doesn't work as i had previously told you and our first night here the air conditioner started leaking...so there is a constant drip from the thing that we had to put the trash can under...all night you hear drip..drip...drip...its annoying. So the second night the air conditioner was still leaking and the leak decided to move over about an inch or two in the middle of the night and dripped in my suitcase, so all of my clothes were wet the next morning with the exception of a few outfits...i had to hand wash like all my clothes and let them hang out to dry. I got to use my new clothesline that i got especially for this purpose and it worked out very nicely! 

So, other than the air conditioner crisis, things have been going pretty smoothly, sunday night we all just kinda chilled because we had class early the next morning. The first day wasn't too bad, we basically just talk about Greece and the trip, lol we never get to the actual lesson, and then my second class, she only has one hour so she tries to squeeze everything in. The second class is a history class, and i like history, so i don't mind it. She talks a lot though. The breakfast here is surprisingly good and the lunches aren't too bad. I'm surviving. Dinner is on our own everynight though and that can get pretty expensive...so Monday night after class and some free time, we went on some site visits to two popular restaurants here in Thessaloniki. We visited YaMas which in greek means Cheers! and Kitchen Bar...about 8 of us decided to go back to YaMas and eat. It was more of a fine dining experience. I've been wanting some seafood and they had a special seafood menu. The restaurants here are always decorated really modern like, they're nice. I had a greek salad, sea bass, and a milk pie for dessert. The salad was delicious and the milk pie was to die for! The sea bass was overpowered by this zesty sauce but it was still good. After dinner we walked back to the hotel and i passed out because i was really tired. BTW i've noticed that Thessaloniki is much easier to get around than Athens. The streets here are not winding in circles, they're straight. It's sorta as if this city was planned out before they did major damage. lol I will say though, it is a little run down, there are parts that are really nice but most of the city got destroyed by the war, and because they are really slow at doing things here, it's STILL in the process of being rebuilt. (i heard the war in the 40's)

Tuesday morning i was dozing off in class, it was kinda boring, the same stuff, just talking about our experience thus far and such, and then in my second class we discussed democracy and the history of how it came about in the US from Greece...very entertaining discussion, nobody knew the answers to the stuff the professor asked about america, like how many senators we have, yada yada, yada...things like that, i will say, i was a little embarrassed..I did know my senators though, and we had a discussion about how long byrd has been in office...A LONG TIME! I told her i thought he was like 80 something!!  so after class we had lunch and then i worked on my homework and relaxed until 6pm or 18:00 here, when we all went to this amazing mall called Mediterranean Cosmos! It was fabulous!! The visa got put to use and i spent about 65 Euros which is about $100 US dollars almost exactly. The trip to the mall was interesting, those of us who went piled in 5 cabs about 12 Euros each way and headed to the mall. I seriously thought my life was going to end and thought, "I can't go out like THIS!" Our cab driver smelled like straight B.O., OMG i swear, the men here in Greece do not believe in deodorant because it's like this everywhere i go...it was like this on the metro, on the bus, in the hotels, walking on the streets..they all smell bad...i mean it is hot here so people are going to sweat but come on! Reapply or something!! So as we were about halfway through this 15 min. trip...the guy has only his window cracked and lights up a freakin cigarette!!! OMG...at this point i was like, "thats it, i've had it with this country!" He was already driving like a maniac, much worse than any cab ride i've had in the states and i've had them in NYC, LA, Charlotte, Orlando, Atlanta...trust me, they all drive like crazy here but the taxis are 3 times as bad...then when we made it onto the interstate..i swear on my life that we were doing 100!! I was scared for my life!!! We were all seriously hanging on for dear life and looking at each other like WTH? Once we made it to the mall, i had to use the bathroom but was just thankful we made it in one piece!

This smoking stuff leads me to another point...everyone and i mean E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E in Greece smokes and i've heard its like that in the rest of Europe as well. It's crazy...i thought people in America smoked...hell no...these people smoke everywhere. I know smoking has been banned not to long ago in American inside buildings but here people smoke inside of everything....I see the front desk clerks at all my hotels smoking, for example, when i'm using the phone in the lobby, i can't even breath because they're all smoking at the front desk!! How unprofessional!? I hope you don't think thats too bad because this next one might really shock ya......THE cooks in the restaurants(when i can see the kitchen) are smoking while they're back there cooking my food. The waiters here are constantly sitting down and taking smoke breaks like one or two tables away from ours! And let me tell ya...they are chain smokers here like i've never seen before! It's just shocking!! People were smoking inside the mall yesterday. There is no fresh air here! It's just crazy and the people who shouldn't be smoking like the cooks cooking your food or the server serving it and the front desk clerk are the people who are! I mean everyone does, but they should seriously put limits on this stuff.

So anyways at the mall I got this really cute dress that was made in Greece...it was at this very unique store, they had cute thing, and i also got a new pair of white shorts that button up really cool and then a new pink halter top that buttons that i think will be perfect for everyday things and the club. The malls here are very different btw...this mall had a bowling alley, movie cinemas, and a CHURCH...haha i know..that one was a shocker...like a full fledged church that people attend..it was crazy. The fashion here resembles the majority of fashion in the states. You can tell though that they are ahead and much of what i see here i'm sure i'll see back home within the next year...i liked it, also everything is either expensive or cheap there isn't really an in-between. Everyone dresses up really nice to go to the mall, i've seen this in charlotte but some students were surprised and also the people that always harass you at the entrance of the store, follow you while you're inside, and thank you for leaving in the US don't exist here in Greece...they don't always talk to you and don't follow you around like your a shoplifter and let you do your thing..its nice and relaxing really! I liked it, plus the stores here are nothing like they are in America. So after the mall, we had another taxi ride...this one was scarier as it was around 9 when people start going out for like dinner and such...late i know but thats how they do it...he didnt smell as bad and taught us some greek words...a girl in my group was entertained...i was just ready for food and bed...lol 

After we got back i went out with a few girls and grabbed a bite, i had a greek salad, some bread and water and then headed back to the hotel to pass out. 

Today - Wednesday we had class...not too bad today, we discussed a book that we had to read in the second class and in the first we talked about the history of the olympics and how unprepared athens was for the 2004 games....greek tradition, don't be shocked! After class we had lunch and it was good, pork chops, mashed potatoes that tasted like dirt, salad, bread, and chocolate mousse. Also, the breakfast is standard European but for the lunches here I feel like they try to do as much American food as they can, which is nice of them, but sometimes i'm insulted. lol i'd rather just have what they want to make us! lol Regardless, they give us variety at lunch everyday and i will applaud them for this and its also pretty tasty. At 14:30 or 2:30 pm we walked to our site visits today which were of the Electra Palace Hotel and the Makedonia Palace Hotel - and yes thats how they smelled it with a "k"....They were both extremely nice and i wish we were staying there...after this we took taxi's back...this experience wasn't too bad and then we headed out for a dinner...again i had a greek salad, bread and water..cost about 8 to 10 euros each time...its hard to tell what the other stuff is and some of it just sounds gross. so i stick with the basics. Since dinner i got a shower, read some of my book, and have been working on my homework..thank goodness i brought my computer because they are down to 6 in the lab now, and none of them print and word is in greek! haha...THANK THE LORD FOR MAC!!! This thing is the love of my life!!! ::))) Compliments of mommy dearest! It's been an interesting couple of days and i'm going to explain some things about the greek culture here at the bottom and then i'll post again tomorrow or friday...i think we might be doing a one day ferry tour of the islands off Thessaloniki for the free weekend and we're going out tomorrow night but other than that we haven't made any cool plans..so if you have any ideas...let me know!!! Night!

Greeks - they have a very laid back approach to life, they are never in a hurry and when it comes to work they don't identify themselves with their job or what they do like us americans...we usually say, hi, i'm leandra and i'm a server...they identify themselves with family and religion here. They don't work well in teams because every greek is very loud with such strong opinions that they just can't all agree on one thing... Arguing here isn't arguing because they're angry either, its a form of conversation for them...they're raised like this. They work hard when they feel like it, sometimes they speed up and other times they slow down...this could be while it takes so long to get anything done here! The finished the olympic stadium 8 weeks before the games began (hint hint) Their work life doesn't take priority ever unlike in American where we are workaholics and only care about monetary things and are a very materialistic culture. They value other things like family, friends, their religion. They take the time to enjoy things and don't move at a fast pace...EVER...(it takes forever to get something to eat here) They don't care about what happens at the end of their life just as long as they enjoy the journey there ---One greeks statement on why they smoke so much. 

They don't love Americans but don't always hate us but do rely on us for more than 1/4 of their tourism...which btw makes up 74% of their economies "wealth." (they should really be nicer) They also like when you try to attempt to speak their language

they also tend to be pretty trusting...it's very safe in greece which could be one of the reasons they don't follow you around like a shoplifter in the mall, they're very trustworthy of other usually, there isn't a lot of crime here.....ok --- more tomorrow...just some things i thought would be relevant...

Arrival in Thessaloniki

So we left the hotel and the beach behind at around 1pm and got to Astoria hotel around 4pm. There was traffic on the way here so it took a while. We got settled in and walked around the area. It looks as if there is going to be some amazing shopping for me to do right up the street so i'm def. excited about that! Look out mom! We got dressed up tonight and had our welcome dinner and reception at the restaurant in the hotel and then got our assignments for the week of our internships. I get to go back to the Alexander Great Beach Hotel with the majority of the students and i'm pretty excited about that because its right on the beach! We only work 6 hours a day so i can spend the other 18 on the beach! lol My friend Ashton, whom i have come to love has to go to one of the other smaller properties, i'm gonna miss hanging out with her! We also got to tour the school tonight and its pretty cool. It's small but its civilized, so thats a good thing! Classes start tomorrow at 8am sharp so i'm probably going to be hitting the pillow soon. We will be here for the next 2 weeks and this weekend is going to be the free weekend. I have no idea what i'm doing yet though, any ideas anyone?? We'll be doing site visits after morning classes and lunches to various places so i'll keep ya posted. There isn't internet in the hotel, BUT i can walk over to the school and use the wireless in the computer lab they have here. I wouldn't really call it a computer lab though because they only have like 7 computers, 6 of which are working...haha it sucks...and another thing i'm mad about is that the phone's in the room DO NOT WORK...this means that i have to stand in the lobby to talk to anyone...i HATE that...it's so annoying! Plus, there's like a non-stop line for the phone, i'm like are you serious!?? GAY...so anyways, today's been tiring, we started off at the beach this morning and then made the trip here, but it does feel really nice to settle in at one place for 2 weeks though, i was really starting to get burnt out on traveling to a different hotel every night! Well, i'll post later. If anyone has any ideas on what i should do this weekend, let me know! 

Alexander the Great

So we're staying at this really nice resort and the last week of class, we will be doing an internship and 20 of the 30 students will be coming back here to work. We haven't found out where we are all going yet, we'll find out monday i think, i'll let ya know. It's so beautiful here, its right on the beach, they have a pool, hair dryers, high speed in the lobby, and soap in the showers!!! (things i have been living without in these ridiculous hotels!! lol It's very exciting to make it to civilization. Hopefully this is where i get to work! When we arrived we all headed straight to the beach and then around 8:30 we all had a buffet dinner that was decent and then enjoyed free shots of basically fruit juice at the Kassandra Bar that they have here...i tried to order a FROZEN pina colada and even explained it to the waitress and the bartender. I instructed them on how to make it and everything. She brought it out wrong so i sent it back, and then she brought it back pretty much the same way....i was mad but still tried to drink it and paid for it and then i headed to the lobby for internet and then to bed around 1:30 after chatting for a while with some girls in the lobby. We all got up at 9:30 this morning for a buffet breakfast which was a lot better than what we've been having. After this, we had a free day today, this is sorta our last day to enjoy free time before we start classes on monday. So, well all got ready and headed down to the beach around 10:30 and stayed out there all day until about 4:30. We all had a blast and there were people laying around topless just like i was told there would be. Some girls in my group decided to join in at one point. lol It was a fun day, we all read books and listened to our ipods while getting a tan. After this long day at the beach, we all got ready and headed to dinner and afterwards we all kinda hung out again but agreed that we're all getting up early to go to the beach before we head to Thessaloniki tomorrow. The bus is leaving at 1pm to take us to our new hotel where hopefully i'll get the chance to do some laundry!! THEN...school work starts---- YUCK! None of us are happy about it, but we've heard that it won't be too hard. Well, i don't really have any interesting stories today but i'm sure some will develop soon enough...I also posted 1 album of pictures on facebook today so people can look at them, i don't seem to be able to upload them on here, so if you want to check them out you'll have to go there!! Sorry!

Delphi, Monasteries, Mt. Olympus, and Vergina - The past few days!

Anywho after the museum, we had a group pic and then bought some snacks at a kiosk, and then piled on the bus for a two and a half hour trip to Delphi!! We stopped at some place called olympus travel to eat lunch and it was not the most appetizing place. I had some chicken parmesan sand-which with some weird orange colored cream cheese-like spread. It was ok but left a weird taste in my mouth so i justified it by buying myself a slushie...finally something with ice!! :) After this stop we got back on the bus and drove through the most beautiful mountains i have ever seen in my life! Living in West Virginia and everything, i thought i'd seen the mountains, everything from my backyard to snowshoe. The mountains here though are different. They are like rock. Very high rocks with scattered bushes, not many trees, and they look very dry. They are huge, way bigger than any mountains i have ever seen. It's breathtaking, the pictures i took just don't do them justice. Once we got to Delphi we went to another boring museum, this one was smaller so it was a less painful experience. We checked into our quaint little hotel called hotel phaethon. We went to dinner which was amazing. We had a different version of greek salad, bread, water with no ice, again, and veal with yummy veggies and such....and then fresh watermelon for dessert. I give this meal 4 thumbs up on a scale of 1 to 5. After this, some people and i shopped and we pretty much walked the entire town. It was extremely small.. Later that night, the lady that owns the hotel or whatever, it was very small, wouldn't let anyone use the phone, and she stood outside and stared up at all of us while we were just sitting on our balconies quietly. We weren't even being loud and then she came up and paced around in our hallways like we were supposed to be sleeping or something....it was ridiculous...i went down to use the phone to call mom to let her know that we had made it there alright and she was like yelling at me in greek to get off the phone like i understood her, then she started poking my arm!!! We couldn't dial out on the phones in the rooms because her hotel was crappy. I wanted to strangle her!!! GHETTO!!! I was mad, we were all mad, and the next morning i skipped the "skimpy breakfast" in case she had poisoned it!! There were other things too, but she obviously did not like Americans!! I tried to be nice, but she surpassed my limits.

Soo wednesday morning after the nights experience, we boarded the bus and went back to the ancient site of the Oracle of Delphi. Let me just say this, the acropolis is pretty amazing because you look at it and think, wow i can't believe something like that is in the middle of a metropolis the size of like Orlando or Atlanta!!  Its just outstanding!! BUT, the oracle and ancient ruins in delphi are phenomenal!! They are so well preserved and because this place was once thought to be the center of the earth, it is a very important site! The columns and buildings and temples are amazing. We saw the Agora with the temple of Apollo, the treasuries, the gymnasium with one of the only preserved swimming pools, the theater, the stadium was closed because some rocks fell, and my personal favorite, the temple of athena!! It was beautiful!! So far my favorite place! It amazes me how skilled and smart the ancient greeks were and how devotedly they really believed in these "mythological gods." I mean seriously, their whole lives revolved around them and today i definitely learned some important history. I really finally felt like "hey omg, I'm not in the US anymore!" It was just crazy. Something i think everyone needs to see before they die and the history that goes with all these sites is just unbelievable.

After Delphi, we got back on the bus to travel four and a half hours to Kastriki, Kalambaka, and Meteorea where the monasteries are that we were going to see. The towns are all in the same general area. We stopped again at a mount olympus travel place for lunch, this time i had a salad..not too bad and then we got back on the bus and watched some movie while most of us tried to nap, it was nearly impossible to take a nap with all the curvy roads though, i kept whacking my head up against the window every time we'd take a turn! After we arrived at the hotel, which btw was very cute and way nicer than the last one with the mean old lady,  we got settled in and cleaned up and then headed to dinner. We had of course the usual, bread, greek salad, also i forgot, special bread dips come with most meals too, and then the main course was chicken and potatoes...it was a very flavorful dish which i was surprised because the food here has really simple flavors or not much at all and they never serve anything really cold or really hot...its all like room temperature..its weird. One thing i have noticed about the mountainous region is that i've seen bugs here! I didn't see one bug the whole time i was in Athens but here there are all sorts of bugs, some i've seen before and others that are native to greece. After dinner we went over to a little bakery, i had a mini ice cream sand-which and i got a slice of baklava for the morning for breakfast because i imagined it was going to be slim pickings since it was a really small hotel.

As for the next morning, Thursday, we got up early and traveled way up to these outstanding rocks that i could see from our hotel room, in Meteorea where the monasteries are and checked them out. They were beautiful!! They are on the very top of these rocks that are like mountains but very straight up like cylinders, don't worry i took lots of pictures, its hard to describe. I saw some monks and some nuns and bought a few souvenirs. The monasteries were very old and had beautiful paintings in them of jesus and about his life and the disciples. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the monasteries but i took photos of the outsides. We had to climb up about a million stairs to get to them too! They were also pretty old. HOWEVER, here is the interesting part...the toilets here so far haven't been too bad except for not being able to flush toilet paper down some of them but recently, at the monasteries, they had a toilet that was like a hole in the floor!!! DON'T panic...i took a picture of this so you'll know what i'm talking about...it was like a ceramic toilet just in the floor...when i saw this i didn't believe my eyes! I mean i understand because the nuns wear skirts and everything and its probably easiest for them to use the bathroom like this. (i heard it was the cleanest way too, but i don't believe that from experience) But, i had to get like completely naked just to take a piss!! I was like, "this is crazy and uncalled for." Seriously, it was traumatizing, quite the first experience. Squatting is never cool. After visiting two of the monasteries we got back on the bus for another two and a half hours for our trip to Mt. Olympus which was breathtaking as well. This was our first time at the beach, so we were all very anxious to get in the water. This was also our tour guides family hotel, so we got to meet his family and we got a special tour of the facility. They had a campground and bungalows and then a main area with a restaurant and bar and such.  We stayed in the bungalows, they were alot nicer than what i was picturing and we all got bathing suits on and headed for the beach. It was sort of an overcast day because it had just rained so it was a little chilly so i didn't get in. After the beach though, we got showers and headed to dinner in the small town and i would give this dinner 5 thumbs up!! It was delicious!! We had lamb, salad, bread, bread dips, soup--cold soup, something new-- and then a fabulous fruit and ice cream dessert!! I got some pictures of Mt. Olympus because we had a good view and then we headed back to the hotel. They had a complimentary round of drinks waiting for us back at the bar, so we had some drinks and then sat by the beach all night. We went to bed late and then got up early this morning...i had toast for breakfast because i have run out of special K bars in my duffle bag, the rest are in my main suitcase! We then got on the bus this morning and headed for Vergina where we toured the museum of Phillip II, Alexander the Great's Father. It was pretty cool...i like this type of stuff so i didn't mind this museum, plus everything was well preserved and real!! It was cool...we ate lunch in the small town which was also good and then we got back on the bus for another 4 hours to drive to Thessaloniki to drop off our tour guide, he'll be back to see us sunday ( we were sad though cause we liked him) and then a little further up the coast to Chalkadiki to stay at the Alexander the Great Beach Hotel for a couple of days before returning to Thessaloniki. I've been having a great time so far, there are some annoying people on this trip that really aggravate me but i'm trying not to let that ruin my time. It's beautiful here but can be frustrating at times. I will post more probably later tonight or tomorrow. Leave me comments!

Monday - 6/30

I haven't had internet while i was in the smaller towns so i wrote stuff down and decided i would copy and past when i got to the Alexander the Great Beach Resort (which btw is fabulous, i know your jealous!!) I'll just go by days...

Monday night (last night in athens) we had dinner at the taverna in the plaka with greek music and dancing. We had musaka (code name for dog barf)...its not spelled like that but regardless it wasn't very good at all. I ate the bread and greek salad and water with no ice...again. In Greece its rude to barely touch your food so I took my fork and kinda spread it around and made a hole in the middle so it looked as if I had eaten some of it. I tried to eat because I was really hungry but it was really gross, plus it was cold. After this, some girls and i went over to the same place we hung out the night before and tried to have some drinks. I ordered a pina colada and it def. was not frozen like i thought it was going to be because again they have NO ICE in this country!! We had a really good time and took a ton of pictures and went back to the hotel fairly early to pack up our duffle bags and suitcases for the upcoming week of traveling. We had to be up at like 6 and didn't get to bed until 2am! Needless to say, we all woke up pretty late. We had to drag our bags about 2 blocks to catch the bus. We all had to pack duffle bags for the upcoming week because we were going to be switching hotels and traveling to different towns every night. We started the day off at the National Archeological Museum...they had some interesting pieces but it was kinda like any other museum...boring and repetitive. It wasn't air conditioned either!! However, i did have quite the experience in the bathroom!! We had 10 mins. for all 28 women to use the bathroom before we had to get back on the bus....soo we all walked down the stairs, because most all bathrooms in this country are in the bottom of the establishment, and stood in line because there were only about 6 stalls. Well i was next in line and then my roomie sarah was behind me. Two stalls opened up and this stupid lady with her stupid kid(we all know i hate them) just walked past everyone in line and was standing there like she should get to go ahead of us!! Well i tried to go in one stall and sarah went into the other one and as i was grabbing the door to close it so i could take a freaking piss and this stupid lady started pulling on the other side of the door handle and she was pulling so hard that i just let go and she was trying to make out in greek that her stupid 7 year old needed to use the bathroom!!! WELL let me tell you...that is the last time that someone is going to be rude to me and get away with it in this country...i got tired of playing tug of war and just let her go in since she was pushing and shoving me! (keep in mind there are still 15 people waiting to go after me) I kinda feel like if i'm mean to these people that i'll get in trouble but i've changed from that mentality quickly! i had to piss too and its not like this kid was 3 i don't care the circumstance, she can hold it, i know she can! She just walked past like all 20 people in line like she should get to go first...well i waited in line to piss and she should have to too!! Ugh, i was so mad and it still makes me angry talking about it! These people are rude here!! Excuse me, or the greek phrase for it ...do not really exist. I mean don't get me wrong the greeks have some things that the Americans should take and run with from their culture but, they should def. learn from us as well, like how to be polite!!